BHLDN On A Budget!

Like many women, my heart swoons whenever I step inside Anthropologie. Sadly, I cannot afford to shop there regularly, especially on a grad student budget in the middle of a recession! However, I was thrilled to recently learn that the team behind Anthropologie decided to venture into another one of my passions, the wedding world, with their new store, BHLDN.

A great feature of the BHLDN website is that it offers more than just a shopping experience for brides. It includes free interactive experiences to help inspire you while planning your wedding, and provide another great way to procrastinate ;-) For example, I took a fun quiz called "What Kind of Bride Are You?" and discovered that I am a Romantic Nostalgic bride, which was a very accurate portrayal of my vintage Cape Cod wedding. The website also offers MoodBoards, aka inspiration boards, where you can view their products based on themes or color palettes, or even create your own board!

Disclaimer: I guarantee you will love everything BHLDN offers, but like it's sister store Anthropologie, products from here do not come cheap. Since one of my goals is to provide wedding inspiration for brides on a budget, I have scoured the site and chosen the best wedding attire and accessories for budget-minded brides.

Here are 2 boards featuring my favorite dresses, that are all an amazing steal at $1600 or less!

Finally, another great way to incorporate the romantic, unique, and vintage products BHLDN offers while not breaking the bank is to carefully choose more affordable accessories for your big day. Here are my top picks:

Images from center, then clockwise from top left: Choose a lovely silk hat/birdcage veil for a vintage vibe ($120); Love coasters provide a romantic touch ($14 for 10); Don polka dot gloves for a unique look ($40); Brighten up your fete with colorful straws ($6 a pack); Eat your cake with a pair of engraved love forks ($24 a pair); Serve treats on lovely pedestals ($68-$88); Statement earrings are great bridesmaid's gifts ($66); Accessorize your cocktail hour with love stirrers ($22 for 24); Use adorable mini teapots as escort card holders ($52 for 6); Glam a simple pair of shoes with colorful pom poms! ($25 per pair); Choose simple but sophisticated letterpress invites ($26 for 8); Chalkboard vases make unforgettable table numbers ($18); Faux flowers are a great way to save money without compromising on style ($32 for 5).

The Ultimate Prep: A Seersucker Wedding

Nothing says New England preppy like seersucker. This fabric is perfect for summer or beach weddings due to it's breathable, light cotton composition. While it's traditional color is blue, seersucker can now be found in an array of pastels, as well as neutrals such as khaki.

As soon as summer rolls around, I love pulling out my seersucker clothing and accessories, such as my vintage Kate Spade purse (also great for a bride on her wedding day!).

Seersucker would also be great as a wedding theme for brides looking to host a classic, preppy wedding. If you're fiance objects, just tell him that real men wear pastels, and he'll be thanking you when he's not wearing a traditional tux in 90 degree heat!

Finally, find some creative ways to incorporate seersucker into your wedding theme, such as customizing your wedding cake with stripes:

Cake by Cake Girls

A Pink Palette

Much to my dismay, I am almost out of my favorite perfume, Flowerbomb (which I of course wore on my wedding day). So I decided to turn my obsession with this pink perfume into an inspiration board for all you brides. This board combines a few of my favorite things (J.Crew, peonies, candy, and horses).

Happy weekend everyone!

Daily Inspiration: Beach Wedding Invitation with a Twist

I was recently perusing the blog of the talented Anne Ruthmann (who is now an official local vendor, as she has moved to Massachusetts!), and found this lovely photo:

This is a beach wedding invitation that arrived in the bottle pictured above. Wouldn't it be perfect for a Cape Cod Wedding? I love how this is a spin on the traditional "message in a bottle" theme by sending it in a vintage Coca-Cola bottle. I also love the detail that the bride and groom lined the bottle with local sand to get guests geared up for their wedding day!

What are you doing for your STD's and invitations? Do you have any creative ideas for sending out something quirky and fun, or are you going the traditional route (as I did)?

  

Don't Forget Stamps!

On the list of things that I think are probably the most overlooked by brides, stamps just has to be one of them.  Perhaps that's because I didn't give a second thought to purchasing stamps until my printer informed me that they would be ready in a week and I wanted to get them mailed as soon as possible.  After a failed attempt to buy the stamps I wanted in the quantity I needed at the post office (and losing a half hour of my life waiting in line), I found it easiest just to go online and order everything from USPS.com, which has a collection of wedding stamps!  If you're in a hurry to get your invites out, make sure you avoid my mistake and think ahead and get your stamps in plenty of time.  I'm majorly hearting these royal love stamps, a new addition to the wedding collection.

Another thing to remember: Weigh your invitation set, as many sets are made of thicker (translation: heavier) paper and/or include lots of additions (RSVP cards, directions, etc.) and that means that your standard $0.44 stamp might not be enough.  I purchased these pretty $0.61 stamps for the outsides of the invitations, and used the royal love stamps for our RSVP card envelopes. Etiquette tip: Don't forget to stamp and include a return address on the outside of your RSVP card envelopes so your guests don't have to do it!

Vendor I Heart: Unit i Press

I'm really excited to bring you my next featured vendor.  Unit i Press is based in Chicago, and offers custom letterpress invitations at a fraction of the cost. As a bride-to-be, I quickly learned the letterpress invitations are coveted by most brides, and I wanted to have this luxury for my own wedding as well, but was worried about whether or not I could afford them.  I also preferred letterpress because of its vintage, timeless look, which goes well with my wedding in a historic landmark church on the Cape.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when my future sister-in-law found Unit i Press on Etsy, which offers affordable letterpress without compromising on quality.  Furthermore, Yoosun (the designer) could not be sweeter, and was really nice about working within our budget when we had to completely change our invitations due to switching our date and venue!  I can't say enough about her kindness, but most of all, her work really speaks for itself.

More Fall Inspiration

I adore fall.  Growing up in New England, fall was always such a magical time for me.  There was apple picking, pumpkin carving, and horseback rides through the crisp autumn air.  I always feel inspired when I'm able to return to New England in the fall and see the changing of the leaves.  I really love the vibrant rich colors of the leaves, and strongly believe the color palette of reds, oranges, and yellows would be a beautiful accent to any wedding.  Unfortunately, I think most brides tend to play it safe when they have a fall wedding and stick to brown as their main color.  While I love brown, I just think it would look so much better with a pop of bright color to accompany it.  Hopefully some of these inspiration boards will motivate all you fall brides out there to take a risk when choosing your wedding colors!

All photos courtesy of Style Me Pretty.